Fluid cooling system



May 19, 1936. GOLDFlELD 2,041,241

FLUID COOLING SYSTEM Filed Dec. 10, 1954 A 7 L T 1, /7 m L:

S i a [L INVENTOR ATTORN Y5 Patented May 19, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLUID. COOLING SYSTEM tion of New York Application December 10, 1934, Serial No. 756,781

4 Claims.

This invention relates toliquid coolingsystems: such. as those. employed for cooling X-ray tubes-and-the-like, wherein passages and chambers: are provided for the cooling medium, of which drainage isrequired occasionally as in the case:of anX-raytube,., for replacement of the tube;

The principal objects;-ofthe invention are to make simple and convenient provision for draining, andrefilling.

The": exact nature of this invention together with further: objects and advantages thereof will be:v apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Figs. 1- and 2 represent in plan and typical sectional elevation, respectively, an embodimentof the principal control parts employed in. the invention, and Fig. 3 a is a diagrammatic View illustrating the essential parts of the complete system, as applied to an X-ray tube.

With. reference nowto thedrawing and first particularly to Fig, 3 thereof ,1 represents conventionally-the deviceto-be cooled, such as an X-ray tube.housing,.whioh will be understood as suitably chambered and provided with passageways for flow therethrough of a. cooling; liquid such as oil. 2 is a container for the cooling oil, having associated" heateexchanging means such as the cooling coil 3 through which water may be caused to fiow, that the oil in the container may be cooled. 4 represents a pump of reversible type, that is, one which will produce fiow in either direction dependent upon its direction of op eration. 5 is an inlet leg to the pump 4 extending downwardly below the liquid level in the container 2. 6 is the delivery duct leading from the pump to the device I. l is a return duct leading back from the device I to the container 2 and including a leg part 8 for discharge into the container below its liquid level. 9 is a reversible motor for driving the pump 4, under control of a reversing switch I having an associated handle II for its manipulation by the operator. [2 is a valve in a line l3 providing a vent for the return duct '1 above the container liquid level, and pref erably within the container 2 which is preferably vented. The above disclosure will suffice to set forth the relation of the parts. Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a physical embodiment of the relation between the switch 10 and valve [2 which constitutes the principal feature of this invention.

The valve I2 is simply a plug valve, as illustrated in Fig. 2, having two open positions 180 apart with reference to its plug, and an intermediate closed position. The handle II is mounted on a shaft 14 in a frame and cover plate 15, aligned with the plug of the valve 52 and connected to the plug as by the coupling member I6 fitting over. the plug handle, the valve i2 being rigidly. associated with the frame part l as indicated in Fig. 2. Rigidly secured to the shaft 14 is an index arm 11, and the frame 15 is provided with indicia as indicated at I8, to show three positions of the control handle ll: fill, run, and drain, as indicated in Fig. 1. Yieldably releasable. detent means H! are provided effective betweenthe shaft 14 and frame I5 for yieldably maintaining the parts in any of these three positions.

The reversing switch for the motor 9 may be of the usual toggle type having an actuating lever 20 balanced to ahead position and yieldably movable toreverse position. The switch is so mounted ontheframe that when the control handle H is setin drain position, the switch lever will be movedtoreverse position, which is that illustrated.in.Figs. 1 and 2; and when the handle l l ismovedtherefrom to run or fill positions, its lever. 20 being released, the switch 10 will assume. forward running position.

Operation will be as follows: When the handle 11' is: set in.the run position wherein the system functions in its usual cooling operation, the switch 19 is set that the motor 9 drives the pump 4 in ahead direction and the valve 12 is closed. The cooling liquid will thus follow the path of the arrows in Fig. 3, from the container 2 to the pump 4, by which it is. forced upwardly through the delivery duct 6, circulates through the cooling chambers of the device I, thence by way of the return duct '1, down through its leg 8, discharging into the container 2 below the liquid level thereof.

To drain the device 1, the control handle I l is set in the drain position, that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, in which the motor 9 is reversed and the valve 12 opened. Thereupon the pump 4 operates to cause flow in the ducts 6 and l in the direction opposite the arrows. Flow in the system will then be from the vent l3 through the valve 12, thence in succession by way of the duct 1, the device duct 6, pump 4 and leg 5.

Thus, in the cooling system so far as the device I is concerned, the cooling liquid will be withdrawn and displaced by air entering through the vent l3.

When it is thereafter desired to refill the system, the control handle ll being shifted to its fill position, the switch 10 will cause the motor 9 to drive the pump 4 in ahead direction and the valve l2 will be open. Thus the pump 4 will cause flow in the system to be by way of the leg 5 and through the pump, successively through the duct 6, device I, duct 1 and vent l3, thus displacing the air in the cooling chambers of the device I, with the oil or other cooling medium from the container 2. During this operation it will be noted that air is discharged into the container by way of the vent l3 above the container liquid level, so that foaming of the cooling liquid within the container is avoided. After the system is thus filled, the controller II is turned back to the run position which closes the valve l2 without effect upon the pump, whereupon liquid flowing to the container by way of the return duct 1, is discharged into the container below its liquid level.

What I claim is:

1. In a liquid cooling system for apparatus chambered for cooling, including a container for the cooling liquid, a pump served by said container, a delivery duct from said pump to said apparatus, a return duct from said apparatus to said container and arranged to discharge below the container liquid level, reversible motor means for reversibly driving said pump, and reversing switch means for said motor means, valve means, means providing a vent for said return duct by way of said valve means at a point within said container and above said liquid level, and means interassociating said switch means and said valve means and providing a fill position wherein said pump operates ahead and said vent is open, a run position wherein said pump operates ahead and said vent is closed, and a drain position wherein said pump is reversed and said vent is open.

2. In a liquid cooling system for apparatus chambered for cooling, including a container for the cooling liquid, a pump served by said container, a delivery duct from said pump to said apparatus, a return duct from said apparatus to said container and arranged to discharge below the container liquid level, reversible motor means for reversibly driving said pump, reversing switch means for said motor means balanced to ahead position and yieldably movable to reverse position,

valve means, means providing a vent for said return duct by way of said valve means to a point within said container and above said liquid level, an operator-operated controller, and means associating said controller with said switch means and with said valve means, and providing a fill controller position, wherein said pump operates ahead and said vent is open, a run controller position wherein said pump operates ahead and said vent is closed, and a drain controller position wherein said pump is reversed and said vent is open.

3. In a liquid cooling system for apparatus chambered for cooling, including a container for the cooling liquid and a circuit for said liquid leading from a low part of said container and returning to said container by way of the cooling chamber of said apparatus, and said circuit including reversible means for causing circulation in said circuit in either direction, the return part vide forward operation of said circulating means i when said valve is in closed position, and either forward or reverse operation of said circulating means when said vent is in open position.

4. In a liquid cooling system for apparatus chambered for cooling, including a container for the cooling liquid and a circuit for said liquid leading from a low part of said container and returning to said container by way of the cooling chamber of said apparatus, and said circuit including reversible means for causing circulation in said circuit in either direction, the return part of said circuit leading below the container liquid level and having a vent and a valve controlling said vent, said valve having a closed position and two open positions, and means interconnecting said valve and said circulating means and arranged to provide forward operation of said circulating means when said vent is in either its closed position or one of said open positions, and reverse operation of said circulating means when said vent is in the other open position.

EDWIN R. GOLDFIELD. 

